Thursday, August 23, 2007

Finding That Two Hundreth Edwardian Woman In A White Dress

I have access to a time machine, a "Way Back Machine." It's called the United States Federal Census. There's a certain sadness associated with the ability to go back in time, to view the past and future of faces in a photograph, faces frozen in time. You will understand what I mean as we share the real lives of these Edwardian women in white dresses.

I love old orphan photographs. When I first saw the Birthday Club for sale I knew I had to give it a home. So I bought it.

I was pleasantly surprised, when it arrived in the mail, to discovered that listed on the back was the date, place, and names of everyone in the photograph.

The Label

Janice Brown of Cow Hampshire had written a very clever storyline for my beautiful women in their best white dresses, "Finding That Two Hundreth Victorian Woman In A White Dress." So I decided why not write the actual story; find out what I could about these Edwardian[1] women in their white dresses surrounding their distinguished male companion. I wanted to know more about each and every one of them and I hope you will as well. Follow me as I explore Lamoure, North Dakota, through the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses using HeritageQuest Online only.

~ The Story ~

Once upon a time, the "Birthday Club" included one man, 13 women, 2 young girls, a female child, and a baby. The man, John Freyberger, is referred to as Chief on the label. John is wearing a uniform and a badge which, when blown up in a photo editing program, reads police.

It would appear that Chief Freyberger gave copies of the photograph to the women pictured to commemorate the occassion of the "Birthday Club," as the label says compliments from Chief John Freyberger. The date is listed as September 2, 1911. The place as Lamoure, North Dakota[2].

The photograph was taken by Benjamin Studios of Lamoure. The photographer, according to the 1920 census, was Rhoda Benjamin, who was 33 years old when she took the photograph. A female photographer, Chief Freyberger completely surrounded himself with women.

From The Card Mount

All married women are listed on the label by their husband’s name, not their own. A sign of the times I'm sure. Women listed by their Christian names are single or widows according to the relevant census records. The young girls and child are referred to by their Christian names. Our little baby is referred to simply as "Baby."

What is the "Birthday Club?"[4] Mrs. Henry Hodem is holding a bouquet of flowers. Is it her birthday? Mrs. Cris Deisem is reaching for those flowers. Is it her birthday? Perhaps we will never know this much detail, but we can take a peek at the lives of each of the people photographed by locating them in the census.

Before consulting the census I wanted to match the names in the label to the faces in the photograph by creating a key. It isn't as simple as it sounds. It appears that the names are written right to left (back row first), then left to right, then right to left, then left to right on the label. I wanted to be certain each woman pictured for the name matched the age I found for her in the census. So the key was tentative until all women had been found in the census and their age ascertained. (Even this method may not be correct as I will demonstrate.)

Mrs. Ernest Engel is Mathilde Engel. According to the 1910 census she would be 35 years old in this photograph. She was born in Germany. She and her husband, Ernest, immigrated to the United States in 1884. Mathilde has been married to Ernest for 15 years and it is the first marriage for both.[4] She has had five children all living. They are Otto 13, Lillia 12, Ernest Jr. 10, a Daughter 6 (whose name I was unable to read), and Dorothy 4. Mathilde's husband Ernest is Lamoure's real estate agent.

In the 1920 census Ernest and Mathilde have added another member to the family, a son named Richard who is seven. The name of the daughter that couldn't be read in the 1910 census is clearly written in the 1920 census, it is LaVerne. Ernest is still selling real estate in Lamoure in 1920.

By 1930, Ernest and Mathilde have become dairy farmers and only Dorothy and Richard are living with them. Dorothy is now a clerk at the court house and Richard is listed as having no occupation, not even as working with his father.

Mrs. Dietrich Suemper is Bessie Suemper. According to the 1910 census she would be 28 years old in the photograph. Dietrich and Bessie have a daughter Evelyn who is 4 years old and is also pictured in the photograph. They were married between 7 June 1900 (1900 census in which Dietrich is unmarried) and 2 September 1911 (date of the photograph). Using Evelyn's age they were probably married in 1906 or 1907. Dietrich is a butcher employed in Lamoure's local meat market.

In the 1900 census Dietrich was a boarder in the hotel run by Hannah Larson who is also pictured in the photograph. Bessie is not married in the 1900 census for Lamoure and we do not know her maiden name so it cannot be ascertained if she was living in Lamoure in 1900.

In 1920 little Evelyn has three siblings, Walter 7 years old, Marjorie 5 years old, and Lois 1 1/2 years old. Dietrich is no longer a butcher, but is a salesman in the general store.

By 1930 Bessie is a 47 year old widow living with two of her chilldren, Walter and Marjorie. Lois is not listed on the census. She would have been 11 or 12 years old at this time, so I have assumed Lois, like Dietrich, has died.

Chief John Freyberger is 51 years of age in this photograph. He was born in New York and has been married for 21 years. It is his only marriage and he and his wife have no children. The 1910 census lists his occupation as a farmer who owns his own farm. John is wearing a uniform and a badge that reads Police. We can assume that sometime after the date of the census taking, John became the Chief of Police for Lamoure, or the job was not listed on the census. (Only more research may answer the question.)

John, who is pictured standing behind his wife with his hand on her chair, is a widower by the 1920 census.-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Mrs. Hannah Larson is 46 years old in this photograph. She is a widow and was a widow at the age of 34 in the 1900 census. She was born in Sweden in December of 1865 and immigrated to the United States in 1887. According to the 1910 census she owns the Ring Hotel which has 6 servants and eleven boarders.

In the 1900 census one of her boarders was Dietrich Suemper whose wife Bessie and daughter Evelyn are also pictured.

In 1920 Hannah is still operating the hotel. She has less servants, but more boarders. She has not remarried.

There is no widowed Mary Hartman in the 1910 census, and a page by page reading for Lamoure finds only one Mary Hartman. She is married to Henry Hartman. I am assuming this is the correct Mary Hartman. If that is the case, Henry has died some time between 22 April 1910 (date enumerated) and 2 September 1911 (date of the photograph).

Mary's age is listed as 49 and she would have been 50 in the photograph. She and Henry were married for 29 years and have had two children who are not living.

Age and women is a very interesting subject. In the 1900 census, Mary lists her age as 41, but her date of birth is listed as June of 1858 and then the year 1855 has been added. Were she born in 1855 she would have been 44 or 45 years old. At least a year or two older than Henry, but she lists her age as 41. Ten years later she lists her age as 49, when if the 1855 date is correct, she is probably 54 or 55 years old. An anomoly we have probably all encountered in our research. It is possible that Mary Hartman is 55 or 56 in the photograph.

In the 1920 census there is no widowed Mary Hartman. There are two listings for a Mary Hartman in Lamoure. One is 22 years old and one is 12 years old. It is safe to assume that neither one of these is our Mary Hartman. By 1920, Mary may have remarried, moved, or died, we do not know.

Mrs. William Hartman - In the 1900 census Mrs. William Hartman is identified as Enid. Her age is listed as 25 and she has had three children all living. They are Earl who is 13, a son (I can not read the name) 10, and a daughter Edna who is 5. Enid’s age for this census is troubling as she would have been 11 or 12 when her son Earl was born. Fortunately, the 1900 census lists the month and year of birth for each entry. Enid is listed as having been born in December of 1870. This would make her age 29 years and 6 months by the time of the June 1900 enumeration, not 25. That age is much more realistic as Enid would have been 16 almost 17 when Earl was born.

In the 1910 census Mrs. William Hartman is listed as Erinnie and she is 40 years old. She would have been 41 years old at the time of the photograph. She and William have been married for 23 years and it is the first marriage for both. She has had six children by the 1910 census and five are living, but not all living with her. At home are Edna 15, Eveline 9, Mary 4, and Velma 15 months. Two children's names are missing from this census, Earl and the son whose name I was unable to read. As the census states that Erinnie has had six children and five are living, one of the two missing children has died. The Hartman family has taken in a lodger and William is working as a laborer for a dairyman.

1n 1920, the Hartman household has become very crowded. William and Erinnie have added one child Delila 8, and another lodger. The eldest son Earl has come home to roost and has brought his wife Nettie and Erinnie's three grandchildren, Elwin 9, Nora 7, and William 2 yrs. 8 months. Both William and his son Earl are working for Standard Oil and Erinnie's daughter Evelyn has become a nurse.

The child who has died was apparently the son whose name I was unable to read. He would have been between 10 and 20 years old at the time of his death.

By 1930 the Hartman house has gotten smaller. William and Emma (as she is identified in this census) have only Mary and Velma living with them. William now owns Lamoure's filling station. Mary is a stenographer at the Court House and Velma is a clerk at her father's filling station.

Mrs. Cris Deisem (Anna/Annie) - The 1900 census lists Anna Diesem as 31 years of age. Chris/Christian is 51. The enumerator has listed the length of their marriage as 24, but as this would make Anna 6 when she married Chris I believe the enumerator was indicating that this was a second marriage for Chris and that they had been married for four years. The children living in the home are Clara 22, Mina 18, Florence 14, Lucy 12, Albert 4, Sydney 3 mo., and Raymond 20. This further substantiates my supposition that this is a second marriage for Chris, for if Anna was the mother of all these children she would have been 9 years old when Clara was born. Christian is a merchant and Mina is one of his sales clerks. Raymond works as a farm laborer.

In the 1910 census Anna, now Annie, is 40. Annie would have been 41 in the photograph. She and Chris have been married for 17 years. The census taker has substantiated our supposition that this is a second marriage for Chris and a first marriage for Annie by indicating M-2 for Chris and M-1 for Annie. Annie has had three children, but only two are living. Clara, Mina, Florence, Lucy, and Raymond are no longer living in the home and are not found in Lamoure in the 1910 census. Albert 14 and Dorothy 3 are listed as living at home. Missing is Sydney, whom I assume has died between 2 June 1900 (enumeration) and 18 April 1910 (enumeration). Chris still owns and works in the general store.

By the 1920 census Dorothy Diesem who is 12 years old at the time is living with William Brechlin as a boarder, along with our widowed Chief John Freyberger. Annie's son Albert is living on his own next door to his sister Dorothy and is still working as a laborer.

Where are Chris and Annie and what has happened to them? It is most likely they have died as Dorothy is only 12 years old and is living on her own. I am hoping the newspapers can shed some light on what has happened to this family.

Mrs. Frank Farrell is Nellie Farrell. Nellie would be 49 years old in the photograph. The 1910 census tells us this is the first marriage for both Nellie and Frank and that they have had five children all living. The children are listed as Winnie a son 16 years old, Clare a son 14 years old, Mamie a daughter 12 years old, Joseph 10 years old, and Patrick 8 years old.

Nellie was born in Minnesota and she and Frank own a farm.

Here, Nellie’s story takes a bit of a bizarre turn. There appears to be another Nellie Farrell also living in Ovid Township, Lamoure, North Dakota. According to the 1900 census this Nellie was also married to a Frank Farrell, but is a widow in the 1910 census. As our Nellie was listed in the label by her husband’s name we are fairly certain she was not a widow in 1910.

The other Nellie also has children with similar names and ages. A son Clare 15 years old, a son Winsluth 14 years old, a daughter Mary 13 years old, a son Joseph 9 years old, a son William 7 years old, and a son Harold 5 years old.

Mrs. Robert Konoske is Mary Konoske. The 1910 census lists her age as 45 years old, however, the 1900 census lists her birthdate as December 1863. This would make Mary 47 years old at the time of the census, not 45, and 4 months short of 49 in the photograph.

This is the second marriage for Mary and the first for Robert. They have been married nine years. Mary has had seven children and seven are living. Her children are listed as Mary 20, Lizzie 19, Jacob 17, Martha 14, Edna 12, Robert 8, Florence 5. All the children are listed as Konoske, but it would appear that only Robert and Florence are Robert’s biological children using the fact that Robert and Mary have only been married nine years. Robert's occupation is a retired farmer.

The 1920 census finds that Robert and Mary have taken in Robert’s widowed brother John Konoske. Mary, Lizzie, and Martha are no longer living at home. We now know Mary's previous married name, as Jacob and Edna are listed as Robert’s step-children and their surname is Schneider. Robert is now a wagon maker, the occupation of his brother John in the 1910 census. John has retired and it appears Robert has taken over the Konoske wagon making business.

We find a Mary Schneider in the 1900 census. She is a widow with a farm and five children. They are Mary, Lizzie, Jacob, Martha and Edna. These are the same names listed for the children of Mary Konoske, so it is fairly safe to assume this is the same Mary.

There is no Robert Konoske living in Lamoure in 1900, but there is a John who is married with several children. It is an assumption that as John Konoske and Mary Schneider were both living in Lamoure that they knew each other and that John introduced Mary to his unmarried brother Robert.

Mrs. Cris Hartman is Carry/Carrie Hartman. She was born in Minnesota in 1864 and has been married to Chris/Christ/Christopher for 28 years. They have had one child who is living, but has not lived with them since 1900.

Cris is a retired farmer. Both Carrie and Cris are absent from the census for 1920 and 1930 in Lamoure. Perhaps they have moved to be with their missing child, as Cris is retired. I hope so!

Mrs. Henry Hodem is Elizabeth Hodem and would be 51 years old in the photograph. Elizabeth and Henry were both born in Pennsylvania and have been married for 31 years. They have four children all living, but only Minnie 22 years old, and Florence 13 years old, remain in the home.

Elizabeth's husband Henry is the County Treasurer and their daughter Minnie works for her father as a clerk.

Sadly, by the 1920 census the lovely Elizabeth has died and Henry, now a widower, is living with his 22 year old daughter Florence. She is now a Deputy County Treasurer. Minnie is no longer in the home and could not be found living in Lamoure. Henry has taken in a 23 year old boarder named Lewis Jorgenson who is a teacher.

By 1930 Henry is an auditor for the Court House and is still living with the unmarried Florence. Florence is now a clerk for the local school.

Mrs. John Freyberger is Corrine Freyberger. I am sure she is John's wife as he stands behind her in the photograph with his hand resting on her chair. A pose used in many photographs of the time to denote a relationship. In 1911 a man would not have placed his hand on the chair of a woman who was not his wife. Particularly an upstanding citizen such as John who had been entrusted with the safety of an entire community. Nor would he had done so knowing the act would be commemorated in a photograph.

Corrine is 45 years old in this photograph. She was born in Wisconsin in April of 1863 and has been married to John for 21 years. They have never had children.

I love how the enumerator lists none for Corrine's occupation (as he did with all these women), as if being a farmer's wife in 1911 in North Dakota wasn't a full time job. Being a farmer's wife was obviously a hard life, as discussed earlier, John's Corrine is dead by the 1920 census.

Mrs. Tom Dawson is our mystery woman. No imformation could be found for her. A page by page reading of the 1900 - 1930 censuses for Lamoure found no Tom Dawson.

Perhaps she is visiting one of the women pictured. She sits closest to the Freybergers so she may be their guest. Again, perhaps the newspapers will shed some light on who Mrs. Tom Dawson is and whether the assumpstions I've made are correct.-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Miss Florence Hodem is the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Hodem. She is 13 years old in the photograph.

In 1920, Florence is a Deputy County Treasurer. Forence's mother has died and she is living with her father who is the County Treasurer. Her sister Minnie is no longer in the home and a boarder is now living with her family.

By 1930 Florence is a clerk for the local school and is still unmarried and living with her father.-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Miss Margaret Lorenz, like Mrs. Tom Dawson, is a mystery. There is no Lorenz family living in Lamoure from 1900 - 1930. Margaret may also be a friend or relative who has been invited to the meeting of the Birthday Club.

Mrs. Herman Albrecht is Fridah Albrecht. According to the 1910 census she would be 29 years old in the photograph. Fridah and Herman were both born in Germany. Herman came to America in 1903 and Fridah in 1906, they have been married for three years.

In the 1910 census Herman and Fridah have one child a son named Carl. Carl is listed as being a year old and would have been two years old in the photograph. The baby in the photograph looks much younger than two, so it appears that Fridah and Herman have had another child between the 1910 census and this photograph.

Fridah's husband Herman is Lamoure's butcher and owns his own shop, but in the 1920 census Herman has become a farmer who deals in stock and grain. Fridah and Herman have added several children and one child is obvious by his absence (See Baby Albrecht Below).

Miss Evelyn Suemper is 3 years old in the 1910 Census and would have been approximately 4 years old in the photograph. Her parents are Dietrich and Bessie Suemper.

Evelyn has three siblings by the next census and is recorded as being 12 years old on 9 January 1920. Her brother and sisters are Walter 7 years old, Marjorie 5 years old, and Lois 1 year and six months.

Evelyn’s father was originally the town butcher, but by 1920 is a salesman in the general store.

As the enumerator, Mr. E. W. Field wrote at the end of his 1910 work in Lamoure

~Here Endeth The Enumeration~

______________

[1] My beautiful women in white dresses turned out to be from the Edwardian period rather than the Victorian. I hope Janice doesn't mind the lack of Victoriana. The Victorian era is commonly refered to as the period of Queen Victoria's reign between 1837 and 1901. The Edwardian period is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It succeeded the Victorian period and is sometimes extended to include the period up to the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the start of World War I in 1914, or even the end of the war in 1918.[2] Lamoure is variously identified as "Lamoure" and "LaMoure." I have refered to it as it is written on the photograph - Lamoure.[3] I am having Lamoure newspapers sent to my library through interlibrary loan. I'm hoping there will be some information about the Birthday Club and if so I will update this blog.[4] The enumerator wrote M-1 if it was the first marriage and M-2 if it were the second and so on.

Note: LaMoure is in south eastern North Dakota and was named for Judson LaMoure, a legislator in the Dakota Territory government who later became a member of the North Dakota State Legislature. It is the only Lamoure known in the United States and perhaps the world. Lamoure was a happening place in 1911 and has retained much the same population base today as it did then.

And it certainly amazed me. I always use the census for people I already know a good deal about, so taking just a photograph and filling in the blanks was a real eye opener.

The dear enumerators couldn't spell or write so I had to do a page by page reading for almost everyone in Lamoure for every year. It turned out to be a lot more work then I expected, and a lot more time.

Stunning work, Maven! I have been doing something similar with individuals mentioned in a letter, rather than a photograph, as part of the series of my great-grandfather's time spent in North Russia; it will appear in my next

It really is incredible how much information can be found on the Internet or in published sources, is it not?

P.S. Like Randy, I'm inspired. I really like the format you used of enlarging each individual's face and writing about them. I've got some great family group shots taken in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and this would be a great way to touch on each individual!

wow, woW, wOW, WOW!! I am beyond impressed with your research on the photograph of women in white dresses, whether you call them Victorian or Edwardian. You have presented an amazing amount of research, and have demonstrated how a simple (or what appears to be) photograph can result in a wealth of information about people.

How aptly you demonstrate that genealogy has very little to do with dates and places and much more to do with PEOPLE. Who were they? What was important to them? What have they passed on to us?

I have so thoroughly enjoyed your post and have updated your link on my web site for this topic. :D

What a great educational tool you have just given everyone, and think of the possible descendents in North Dakota or elsewhere who might benefit if they come across your work.

This is also a reminder to all about the future importance of labelling photographs. I have ancestor/community group photographs that I would love to subject to similar treatment, but no names to go by.

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a time machine to go back and meet these Edwardian ladies and discover what their world was all about... and they would feel the same about us, I'm sure.

I'm a little late in getting around to reading your article but I'm glad I didn't miss it. Outstanding fM! It makes me want to do the same sort of thing. Unfortunately the photos I want to analyze have either no names on them or first names only. And first names only don't help when we're talking about residents of a city the size of Detroit.

Thanks for introducing me to the Birthday Club. Great photo, great analysis!

I really thought I left a post here earlier, but apparently the comment-gremlins ate it. Thank you so much for the dedication, I am truly honored. I have already updated your link.

As for your post... it is what I call a "jaw-dropper." Amazing isn't a good enough word. Lovely job on both the research, and for creating such a lovely story. Any genealogist or historian (whichever you call yourself) should find another calling if they can't tell a good story. You, on the other hand, could give lessons :D

When I did, I have to admit I was absolutely speechless! I had no idea this would resonate with so many of my fellow genealogists/family historians.

Janice, you were my muse - hence the dedication. You wrote about the conferences you'd like to attend, I merely complied. Because, while in jest, I thought this would be a challenge I wanted to undertake.

So thank you for the grand idea and and the grand comments.

fM

Chery and Jasia:

You're both on the same page, or actually photograph.

Think of those for whom we will be ancestors and give them the gift of photographs that are labeled.

I really hope I hear from one of the decendants of my "Birthday Club." That would be amazing.

You just never know what may pop up when you google a name like KONOSKE. Robert and John Konoske were both uncles of my Grandmother Frances Pearl KONOSKE Wander. She was the daughter of Herman KONOSKE, a brother to the two men. I am inspired1.....Kathleen Bertrand

Bessie Suemper was my grandmother. She had 4 children; Evelyn (pictured), Walter (my father), Marjorie, and Lois who died at the age of 9. Your article stated that she was a widow at the age of 47 which is not true. My grandfather moved to Mandan ND and continued working as a butcher. In his later years he lived with my family until he died in 1962. At one time he had owned a meat market in LaMoure. Thank you.

Found your article searching for John Konoske...awesome work! I live 30 miles north of LaMoure and have quite alittle more info on the ladies and chief. I'm presently working on the 125th Celebration History Book for our small town, which has alot of ties to LaMoure since it is our county seat. Have not found that pic in any LaMoure history book, is it possible to obtain a copy? PR in ND

I almost missed this article (because it seemed to be addressed to someone in particular) and I am so glad I didn't. I've been doing this kind of collecting of information from census returns, but perhaps not so concisely. Great work! Thank you for sharing.